Need advice on 35” tires

Daredevil96

Daredevil96

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Joined
Feb 28, 2019
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93
Location
Houston TX
I have a 2003 manual transmission Rubicon. My original goal was to get it to 35 inch tires. Now, I didn’t plan on doing this for another year or so but turns out, I might need new tires sooner or later. I am a college student at the moment, I got about a grand saved up in case the Jeep needed something. I know going to 35’s requires a few grand.

My original plan was to go to 35’s once I graduate but it looks like it might need tires sometime in the next couple of months. They’re 5 years old and I am starting to see the tires get dry (you can see some cracks or whatever in the tire).

Current set up is 3 inch Suspension lift, 4:10 gears, 33 in tires, powerstop oe replacement brake rotors and pads. Rancho 5000x shocks, Metal cloak front lower control arms and track bar. ZJ tie rod conversion with TJ draglink.

I might have to keep running with the current tires until one of them pops or when it is absolutely needed to change them. Thread life is good, it’s just the tires are old. I use it as a daily for now but planned on doing mods along the way.

I have the option of just changing my tires and keep everything as it is. I was looking at the BFG 33x12.5 KO2, and probably some pro comp steel wheels.

or get the 35’s, push it for a little while like that (maybe a year) until I can re-gear to 4:88, change control arms, adam’s driveshafts, black magic big brake kit etc. Keep in mind I have the manual transmission. I know they are a bit stronger than the automatics.

I would hate to spend $1000 on tires then have to swap them out a year later again for the 35’s. I just need advice on what is best or what you guys recommend.
 
I would choose one of two options:

1. Used tires. I'm sure you could find 33x12.5 used, as people often don't take them all the way to the tread limit because their off-road performance suffers as tread wears. Alternatively people sell them when they go bigger.

2. Add a 1.25" body lift and the 35s. The body lift and motor mount lift will only cost $180 or so, and give you a bit better clearance (though still not ideal) for the tires without significantly changing driveline geometry.
 
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Hopper said:
Man do not just drive around waiting for a tire to "Pop" that is stupid and dangerous.
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It was just a saying. I don’t drive it far or too often. I drive 2 times a week only. I know for sure it will need tires in a couple of months so that will be done for sure but can’t do it at the moment until I get a couple of other things straightened out with the Jeep.
 
I’ll post a picture once I’m home. I got this Jeep earlier this year. Don’t know how bad it is, my friend just told me that I need to change them out soon. Will post a pic to see what you guys think.
 
This is all 4 tires.

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Daredevil96 said:
This is all 4 tires.

View attachment 198346

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Those would fail PA inspection at my shop.

To some of the above...
A lot of people are really proud of their oversized tires. Meaning they paid a lot and think the used tires should be worth entirely way too much.

There's usually a reason they no longer run them and it's not always wanting a better tread. Remember that.

If you want some 35's go for it.
#1 it gives you safe rubber...that's paramount to the innocent motorists you pass by every day
#2 you'll know real quick how bad you need a re-gear and or a body lift additional....but back to #1...your Jeep is safe again. At least from a tire point of view

Those tires you're running now are not safe.
 
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Rubicon88 said:
Those would fail PA inspection at my shop.

To some of the above...
A lot of people are really proud of their oversized tires. Meaning they paid a lot and think the used tires should be worth entirely way too much.

There's usually a reason they no longer run them and it's not always wanting a better tread. Remember that.

If you want some 35's go for it.
#1 it gives you safe rubber...that's paramount to the innocent motorists you pass by every day
#2 you'll know real quick how bad you need a re-gear and or a body lift additional....but back to #1...your Jeep is safe again. At least from a tire point of view

Those tires you're running now are not safe.
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Thanks for the input. I’m going to start looking into tires then. I just have been on the fence between going to 35’s or stay at 33
 
If it was me in your position I would stick with 33s.

I also second the suggestion to find a used set of 33's that aren't dry rotted, especially if you aren't putting in too many miles. If you find a set already mounted on steelies (common), you could sell your current tires/wheels separately as spares for maybe $20/ea.

Basically, it's my opinion that if you jumped to 35's with your current setup the risk vs reward would be too much for someone in your shoes who is still in school where money is tight.

You never mentioned what kind of wheeling you do, but seems to me you could get some new (to you?) 33's and do a BL/MML and regear to 4.88 as a Phase 1 (assuming that $1000 you mention is not allocated to tires). Then Phase 2 would be TT, CA's, CV driveshaft, etc. Then Phase 3 you can get 35's, chromoly axles, and decide whether to upgrade brakes and steering beyond what you've already done.

Kind of a separate topic, but you also never mentioned how many miles, and I'm not sure if you do all your own maintenance work, have all the tools, etc. Another option is to get some new-ish 33's, put on a BL/MML so you feel productive, and keep the rest of your savings intact to invest in maintenance and tools until you build more savings for upgrades.
 
RubiconRic said:
If it was me in your position I would stick with 33s.

I also second the suggestion to find a used set of 33's that aren't dry rotted, especially if you aren't putting in too many miles. If you find a set already mounted on steelies (common), you could sell your current tires/wheels separately as spares for maybe $20/ea.

Basically, it's my opinion that if you jumped to 35's with your current setup the risk vs reward would be too much for someone in your shoes who is still in school where money is tight.

You never mentioned what kind of wheeling you do, but seems to me you could get some new (to you?) 33's and do a BL/MML (Motor Mount Lift) and regear to 4.88 as a Phase 1 (assuming that $1000 you mention is not allocated to tires). Then Phase 2 would be TT, CA's, CV driveshaft, etc. Then Phase 3 you can get 35's, chromoly axles, and decide whether to upgrade brakes and steering beyond what you've already done.

Kind of a separate topic, but you also never mentioned how many miles, and I'm not sure if you do all your own maintenance work, have all the tools, etc. Another option is to get some new-ish 33's, put on a BL/MML (Motor Mount Lift) so you feel productive, and keep the rest of your savings intact to invest in maintenance and tools until you build more savings for upgrades.
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I don’t do much wheeling at the moment. I don’t have time. I usually do maintenance myself for whatever I can. I’ve recently done the oil pan gasket seal, rear main seal, valve cover gasket seal, changed a lot of the suspension parts as well. Whoever owned this Jeep before me did not take care of it well so I’ve been having to fix a lot of those things and been upgrading things as they need fixing. My tool collection has been increasing over the years. I’m going to look into the Motor Mount Lift
 
RubiconRic said:
If it was me in your position I would stick with 33s.

I also second the suggestion to find a used set of 33's that aren't dry rotted, especially if you aren't putting in too many miles. If you find a set already mounted on steelies (common), you could sell your current tires/wheels separately as spares for maybe $20/ea.

Basically, it's my opinion that if you jumped to 35's with your current setup the risk vs reward would be too much for someone in your shoes who is still in school where money is tight.

You never mentioned what kind of wheeling you do, but seems to me you could get some new (to you?) 33's and do a BL/MML (Motor Mount Lift) and regear to 4.88 as a Phase 1 (assuming that $1000 you mention is not allocated to tires). Then Phase 2 would be TT, CA's, CV driveshaft, etc. Then Phase 3 you can get 35's, chromoly axles, and decide whether to upgrade brakes and steering beyond what you've already done.

Kind of a separate topic, but you also never mentioned how many miles, and I'm not sure if you do all your own maintenance work, have all the tools, etc. Another option is to get some new-ish 33's, put on a BL/MML (Motor Mount Lift) so you feel productive, and keep the rest of your savings intact to invest in maintenance and tools until you build more savings for upgrades.
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This may sound like a dumb question but I am not too familiar with body lifts and motor mount lifts. I did a lot of research for suspension lifts a long time ago but I wasn’t even looking into 35 in tires then. I know the Jeep had the transmission lifted instead of being dropped when it had the suspension lift to get it aligned. Wouldn’t raising the engine affect this?

How would it be different putting for example, a 4 inch suspension lift vs doing the BL/MML? Other than money of course.
 
First of all let me just say it's weird but kind of cool the forum automatically adds "(Motor Mount Lift)" after MML.

Daredevil96 said:
This may sound like a dumb question but I am not too familiar with body lifts and motor mount lifts. I did a lot of research for suspension lifts a long time ago but I wasn’t even looking into 35 in tires then. I know the Jeep had the transmission lifted instead of being dropped when it had the suspension lift to get it aligned. Wouldn’t raising the engine affect this?
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The MML raises the engine, which tilts the TC output shaft down in the rear and slightly improves DS angles with the hope you won't need a TC drop once you lift and keep stock TC skid, rear DS, CA's, etc. Once you've upgraded to a TT, you can still keep it bc it's still improving the angles. It's typically installed with a BL so you don't have to relocate the fan shroud, since the fan shroud is part of the body and the fan is part of the engine. For example, when I was a poor college kid and had a 2" BB, one of the early mods I did to my '04 TJR was a 1.25" BL and 1" MML because I knew I'd eventually be lifting to 3", wouldn't have funds for a TT/DS/etc., and didn't want to have to do a TC drop.

I don't recall ever hearing of a transmission being lifted to accommodate a suspension lift... you'd either lift it via a MML or somehow at the transmission mount inside the TC skid, but that seems like it would contribute to vibes rather than help prevent them. If you're sure you don't have a TC drop then maybe you already have a MML? They come in two flavors, either a spacer/block under the OEM mounts, or a replacement mount that is taller than OEM.

Daredevil96 said:
How would it be different putting for example, a 4 inch suspension lift vs doing the BL/MML (Motor Mount Lift)? Other than money of course.
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4" suspension lift on your TJR would make the rear DS angle even more severe and likely require either a TC drop (bad for offroading) or new rear CV DS and CAs (cost $$$), whereas 3" lift (that you already have) plus 1.25" BL/1"MML would have roughly the same effect by giving your tires additional clearance inside the fenderwells. So theoretically, if you can fit 35's with a 4" lift then it should also fit with a 3" lift + BL.

However, it really comes down to what is limiting your suspension travel, i.e. the reason why you've set your bumpstops where they are. For example, if your shocks are the limiting factor now and your 33s are starting to hit/rub at the same time, then a BL would help clear 35s while bumpstops would remain where they are. On the other hand, if your shocks have room but your 33s are hitting, then a BL would give you additional travel, but if you went with 35s you'd keep roughly the same travel as your 33s without a BL.

The other difference between an extra 1" of suspension travel and 1" of BL is your COG will become higher with the longer springs.
 
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